Tag Archives: fiction

2016 Monthly Status Update: November

Posted in For the love of books by

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Few days late again for the update but things are crazy. Gearing up for the holidays and also working a bunch leaves little time for blogging. We went away to MA this past weekend and had a great time, really got us into the festive spirit! Anyways here is my status update for what I got done in November.

Monthly Stats:
# books read this month: 12
# pages read this month: 3,396
# books read year-to-date: 114
# pages read year-to-date: 34,534

Favorite Books I Read:

Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt – 4.25 stars
My Girl by Jack Jordan – 4.25 stars

Books I Didn’t Particularly Enjoy: 

There weren’t really any books that I disliked this month, was a good month for reading!

Other Posts this month:

The Legendary Lord BLOG TOUR
Mistletoe, Mischief and the Marquis BLOG TOUR!!!

Status of 2016 Reading Challenges:

I’ve pretty much given up on the reading challenges for 2016, I’m mostly just trying to survive at this point.

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2016 Checklist – 20/20 books read
Book Riot Read Harder Reading Challenge – 8/24 books read
Penguin Random House: Challenge Your Shelf A-Z Reading Challenge – 0/26 books read

December TBR list:

-Love Connection by Camilla Isley
-The Trouble with Dukes by Grace Burrowes
-The Twilight Wife by A.J. Banner
-Burning September by Melissa Simonson
-The Enemies of Versailles by Sally Christie

I’m actually happy that I managed to keep the list short for this month because there are a lot of books on my backlog too so I’m hoping to have some time to dig into some of those but we will see how the month goes. Happy reading everyone!

2016 Book #115 – Thirty Days to Thirty by Courtney Psak

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Women's fiction by

51bx4uomm7l-_sx331_bo1204203200_Title: Thirty Days to Thirty
Author: Courtney Psak
Date finished: 12/3/16
Genre: Fiction, women’s fiction
Publisher: CAMP Publishing
Publication Date: October 19, 2015
Pages in book: 228
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

What if you were on the cusp of marrying the guy of your dreams and reaching that career goal you set for yourself, only for all of it to be taken away in one fell swoop?
What if this all happened a month before you turned 30?
This is the story of Jill Stevens, who after moving back home, finds a list she made in high school of thirty things she wanted to accomplish before her thirtieth birthday.
With a month left and hardly anything crossed off her list, she teams up with old friends to accomplish as much as she can before the big 3-0. Along the way, she discovers her true self and realizes it’snot about the material successes in life but the journey.

My rating:  3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book tells the story of Jill Stevens, a woman who loses her job and finds out her boyfriend (of 6 years) is cheating on her in the same night just about a month before her thirtieth birthday. Suddenly single, homeless, and jobless, she’s forced to move back in with her parents while she figures out what her next step is. While at home she finds an old high school writing assignment, 30 things to accomplish before she turns 30. She hasn’t accomplished more than a couple items from that list, and while re-establishing old relationships she decides that she will use the next month before her birthday to do as many of the additional items as she can. Along the way she finds out things about herself that she never knew and she decides that maybe losing her job and her boyfriend were two of the best things that could have happened to her.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. The story line was interesting and sweet. I liked seeing Jill’s character evolve during the book and her cast of supportive characters was hilarious. This book made me (literally) laugh out loud multiple times, you can’t help but laugh at how ridiculously awful Jill’s life is at certain points. She is surrounded by people who love her though and for that she realizes she is extremely lucky. This was a heart-warming story about one woman’s journey to self-discovery and happiness. I would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a good read!

The bottom line: This was a great, uplifting read. It was heart-warming and it was a quick read. I enjoyed this one a lot.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2016 Book #114 – My Girl by Jack Jordan

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Thriller by

51op6mfruvlTitle: My Girl
Author: Jack Jordan
Date finished: 11/28/16
Genre: Fiction, thriller
Publisher: JJP
Publication Date: July 4, 2016
Pages in book: 226
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Paige Dawson: the mother of a murdered child and wife to a dead man. She has nothing left to live for… until she finds her husband’s handgun hidden in their house. Why did Ryan need a gun? What did he know about their daughter’s death? Desperate for the truth, Paige begins to unearth her husband’s secrets. But she has no idea who she is up against, or that her life isn’t hers to gamble – she belongs to me. From the bestselling author of Anything for Her, Jack Jordan’s My Girl is the new chilling thriller that you won’t want to miss.

My rating:  4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book is about Paige Dawson, a woman who has been broken by the hands life has dealt her: her only child murdered and her husband’s suicide. Paige spends all her time in a  drug and alcohol induced fog, not wanting to face reality in any way. She has multiple people who care for her though and who want her to get better, including her father, brother, and her husband’s parents. Paige starts having odd things happen to her, little things that at first she blamed on her drinking. But when every picture of her family has her husband’s face cut out of it, she starts to wonder if someone else has been in her house or if she’s truly just going mad. After the police have to get involved on two of her more recent drinking stints (including her driving into her husband’s gravestone and trying to kidnap a young girl in the department store), Paige is forced to get better or go to jail. Its around this time that Paige discovers she has alcoholic hepatitis, and if going to jail wasn’t enough of a motivation then keeping herself from dying is and Paige moves in with her brother for a few days while she transitions into being sober. And its there that Paige discovers a long held family secret that could destroy her.
Overall I really did like this book. Once I started it was impossible to put down, so it was good that it ended up being a quick read. Paige reminded me a lot of the main protagonist in The Girl on the Train, though the story lines weren’t exactly similar.  This book did get pretty dark and scary so I’d just like to forewarn the reader of that. There is a great twist in the story though that I didn’t see coming and while it was definitely creepy enough to turn my stomach it was also surprising enough that I gasped. This is a great thriller/scary read and I would definitely recommend reading it!

The bottom line: This was an awesome psychological suspense read, the only reason it didn’t get a higher score is it was just a little too dark/creepy/scary for me. There is some sick stuff that goes on in here. If you’re looking for a good thriller though I would most definitely recommend.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2016 Book #112 – Class of ’59 by John A. Heldt

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction by

51exjaufawlTitle: Class of ’59
Author: John A. Heldt
Date finished: 11/24/16
Genre: Fiction, Time travel
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: September 1, 2016
Pages in book: 293
Stand alone or series: #4 in American Journey series
Where I got the book from: Author/publisher NOTE: I received this book for free from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

When Mary Beth McIntire settles into a vacation house on June 2, 2017, she anticipates a quiet morning with coffee. Then she hears a noise, peers out a window, and spots a man in 1950s attire standing in the backyard. She panics when the trespasser sees her and enters the house though a door to the basement. She questions her sanity when she cannot find him.
In the same house on March 21, 1959, Mark Ryan finds a letter. Written by the mansion’s original owner in 1900, the letter describes a basement chamber, mysterious crystals, and a formula for time travel. Driven by curiosity, Mark tests the formula twice. On his second trip to 2017, he encounters a beautiful stranger. He meets the woman in the window.
Within hours, Mary Beth and Mark share their secret with her sister and his brother and begin a journey that takes them from the present day to the age of sock hops, drive-ins, and jukeboxes. In CLASS OF ’59, the fourth book in the American Journey series, four young adults find love, danger, and adventure as they navigate the corridors of time and experience Southern California in its storied prime.

My rating: 3.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book tells the story of Mary Beth McIntire, a recent college graduate preparing to head to medical school, and her sister Piper, a recent high school graduate. Mary Beth has been through some trauma lately as her long-time sweetheart and fiancee was shot and killed in front of her during a convenience store robbery. Mary Beth has been trying to recover ever since then, so after Piper graduates from high school their parents take them on a vacation to California to stay in a friend’s house, the house of Mr. Geoffrey Bell. Readers of this series would know Geoffrey from previous books, as the tunnel under his house has been used in multiple time-travel adventures. Mary Beth encounters Mark Ryan as he discovers this exact use of the tunnel, and after reconciling the fact that they now have access to a time travel tunnel Mark, Mary Beth, Piper, and Mark’s brother Ben (a senior in high school) decide to have a few fun adventures. With Mary Beth and Piper being from the year 2017 and Mark and Ben from 1959 though, they all certainly never expected to develop deep, long-lasting attachments to each other. But after a month spent in each other’s company that is exactly what happens and the two couples must face this and decide what to do about it. And when their lives come to be in danger from mobsters who’ve figured out their secret, will they even be able to make it out of the past alive?
Overall I liked this book. I have found each book in this series interesting and I love the creative process of creating a time travel tunnel and all that entails. This book didn’t end up being my favorite in the series, mostly because I felt like the ending was a little to convenient and was just a little rushed compared to the rest of the story, it didn’t fit right for me. This didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book, just left me a little unsettled still at the end. I love that in each book the reader learns about a different era/region. It is fun to hear what the different characters in each book decide to do with this opportunity. This would be a great read for those interested in time travel and for anyone looking for a light-hearted adventure.

The bottom line: I overall like the series and the time travel aspect in general is very interesting. This wasn’t my favorite of the series but was still a good read. I would recommend, especially if you’ve enjoyed the other books in the series.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2016 Book #104 – The Legendary Lord by Valerie Bowman

Posted in Book reviews, Historical Romance by

51ydafazecl-_sx303_bo1204203200_Title: The Legendary Lord
Author: Valerie Bowman
Date finished: 11/3/16
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Publication Date: November 1, 2016
Pages in book: 320
Stand alone or series: Playful Brides series #6
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

THE MAKING OF A LEGEND…
When Christian Forester, Viscount Berkeley, flees the stuffy ballrooms of London for his Scottish hunting lodge, the last thing he expects to find ensconced before his fire is an incredibly beautiful woman. But the plight of lovely young Sarah Highgate, who has run away from an unwanted betrothal, inspires an eminently practical exchange. He’ll safeguard her reputation with the ton while she advises him how to best attract a proper bride…
As the undisputed belle of the season, Sarah has enchanted plenty of suitors. Still, she isn’t interested in marriage, especially not to the pompous bore her father has chosen for her. But her hasty escape seems reckless now that she’s estranged from her family and has no one to count on besides Christian. Turning the luckless lord into such a catch has another unplanned consequence for Sarah: Has he run away with her heart?
The Legendary Lord is the sixth installment of Valerie Bowman’s Regency-set Playful Brides series.

My rating:  3.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. Also make sure to check out my Blog Tour post on this book here. This book is about a Miss Sarah Highgate, daughter of an Earl, and a Mister Christian Berkeley, a viscount. Sarah has been raised to be obedient but she somehow retains a rebellious nature, and so when her parents arrange for her to marry the Marquess of Branford, Sarah runs away. Aiming for her father’s hunting lodge in Scotland, she gets lost but makes it to a neighboring lodge (Christian’s) before a big now storm hits. Stuck together for a few days during the storm, Sarah and Christian develop a comfortable friendship (tinged with their underlying passion) over the course of these few days. Christian promises to keep Sarah’s secret and in return Sarah gives Christian a few tips on how to court women of the ton so he can find a wife. Upon returning to London, Sarah resolves to marry Branford and Christian becomes the most sought out/eligible bachelor of the season. Only problem is that Sarah can’t stop thinking about Christian, and Christian can’t stop wishing all the women he had interested in him were Sarah instead.
Overall I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read for me and was a sweet story. This was the sixth book in the series and I would be interested to read some of the other books in the series, especially since many of those characters were mentioned in this story. The story line for this book was sweet and reminded me a bit of those back-in-the-day romantic comedy movies I used to watch. Unfortunately there were a few holes in the story for me, the main one being how the ending was resolved. Without giving too much away Christian basically pulls a dick move without talking to Sarah and basically forces her hand. I didn’t care for that, I thought it was a little heavy-handed. Also there were a couple passionate scenes later on in the book and for me they kind of came out of nowhere. I hadn’t felt like there was lot of overwhelming passion from the characters before that point. I still really liked the book and the story, it was just a couple parts felt off for me. Very sweet story though and a quick read, I would recommend!

The bottom line: I really enjoyed this book, it was a sweet story and I liked the characters and the characters that made an appearance from the other books in the series.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2016 Book #102 – Faithful by Alice Hoffman

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction by

51ol8tqfs5l-_sx329_bo1204203200_Title: Faithful
Author: Alice Hoffman
Date finished: 10/29/16
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: November 1, 2016
Pages in book: 272
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Growing up on Long Island, Shelby Richmond is an ordinary girl until one night an extraordinary tragedy changes her fate. Her best friend’s future is destroyed in an accident, while Shelby walks away with the burden of guilt.
What happens when a life is turned inside out? When love is something so distant it may as well be a star in the sky? Faithful is the story of a survivor, filled with emotion—from dark suffering to true happiness—a moving portrait of a young woman finding her way in the modern world. A fan of Chinese food, dogs, bookstores, and men she should stay away from, Shelby has to fight her way back to her own future. In New York City she finds a circle of lost and found souls—including an angel who’s been watching over her ever since that fateful icy night.
Here is a character you will fall in love with, so believable and real and endearing, that she captures both the ache of loneliness and the joy of finding yourself at last. For anyone who’s ever been a hurt teenager, for every mother of a daughter who has lost her way, Faithful is a roadmap.
Alice Hoffman’s “trademark alchemy” (USA TODAY) and her ability to write about the “delicate balance between the everyday world and the extraordinary” (WBUR) make this an unforgettable story. With beautifully crafted prose, Alice Hoffman spins hope from heartbreak in this profoundly moving novel.

My rating:  4.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book is about a girl named Shelby Richmond. The book begins when Shelby has just graduated from high school and follows her life over the next few years. Shelby was driving the car when she and her best friend Helene were involved in an accident and although Helene survived she was irreparably damaged and is now living in a hospital bed at her parents’ house. Shelby blames herself and falls into a deep and violent depression, never wanting to leave her parents’ basement and wishing only to escape from the world. Eventually though she moves to New York City with her boyfriend/drug dealer Ben Kink. From here her life twists down some unexpected paths and somehow she ends up with a comfortable life even though she still feels like she doesn’t deserve happiness.
Overall I just loved this book. I have to be honest though, this one was a hard story for me to get into at first. When the book starts Shelby is so lost in her own grief that it is hard to see past her prickly character. But as the story evolves, the reader becomes connected to Shelby in a deep and intense way. Shelby feels so deeply and is so wounded but as her story progresses and she begins to heal, we fall in love with Shelby and the human being cracking through the shell of her former self. Shelby is so lucky in that there are so many people who care for her, somehow she is able to take her broken life and make something wonderful out of it. I loved her continual dog-napping activities and I loved her relationship with Marvelle and her kids. Shelby may have been a damaged individual but she loved fiercely and was unceasingly loyal. The progression of her character through the story really was just astounding and Hoffman does such a great job of creating a well-rounded character who is nothing if not a survivor. Be warned, this will rip your heart out of your chest, chew it up, and give you back the pieces when its done. I cried the last 1/3 of the book, but it was such a powerful and wonderful story, it was so worth the read! I would definitely recommend this one.

The bottom line: I just loved this book, Shelby as a character was so engaging and it was great to see her character evolve through the story. This was an extremely moving story, definitely keep a box of tissues handy for this one!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2016 Book #100 – To Love and To Cherish by Lauren Layne

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Contemporary romance, Wedding Belles by

51bimis3kcl-_sx303_bo1204203200_Title: To Love and To Cherish
Author: Lauren Layne
Date finished: 10/19/16
Genre: Contemporary romance
Publisher: Pocket Books
Publication Date: October 18, 2016
Pages in book: 320
Stand alone or series: #3 in the Wedding Belles series
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Sex and the City meets The Wedding Planner in The Wedding Belles, a contemporary and witty romance series about three high-powered New York City women who can plan any wedding—but their own.
Alexis Morgan has spent the past eight years devoted to turning her tiny start-up into Manhattan’s premiere wedding planning company, The Wedding Belles. Now that her business is thriving, it’s time to turn towards her much neglected personal life, and Alexis approaches her relationships like she does everything else: with a plan. Not a part of that plan is Logan Harris, the silent partner in the Belles, and the one person who’s been there for her since the very beginning. But Alexis needs someone fun, and Logan’s all business, all the time—except when a late night at the office ends with an unexpected kiss that leaves the usually cool and together Alexis reeling.
Logan has lusted after Alexis since the day he walked into the tiny Harlem apartment that used to double as her office. But the ambitious wedding planner has always been untouchable…until now. Alexis has made it clear that she’s on the dating market—and equally clear that he’s not in the running. But when Alexis finds herself in need of a date for her sister’s last minute wedding in Florida, Logan knows it’s the perfect time to show Alexis that there’s more to him than numbers and spreadsheets—and beneath the pinstripes and glasses lies a hot-blooded heartthrob. As Florida’s sultry days turn into even hotter nights, Logan’s out to convince Alexis that the fling of a lifetime could just maybe turn into forever…

My rating:  4.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book is about Alexis Morgan, owner of the Wedding Belles in NYC (a wedding planning company). I haven’t read the other books in this series yet, but I’m guessing Alexis has been a character involved from the beginning of the series since she is the owner of the company and the previous books in the series are centered around other girls that were working at Wedding Belles. Alexis has known her whole life what she wanted to do, she’s had the vision for what Wedding Belles could be and she’s been working to make that vision a reality pretty much her whole life. Her silent business partner, Logan Harris, wasn’t a part of the dream from the beginning but now she can’t imagine running Wedding Belles without him.  Logan has been in love with Alexis since the moment they met and he has been patiently biding his time, waiting for Alexis to open her eyes and really see him. And after 8 years for waiting, Logan’s father calls him home to London to take over the family business,  giving Logan the nudge he needs to force his hand with Alexis and stop waiting. But is Alexis too scared to admit that she cares about Logan too?
Overall I liked this book a lot, it was entirely engaging and I didn’t want to put it down. Logan’s character was great if a little unrealistic, I don’t know of any guy that would actually wait for someone for 8 years like that. Alexis was an ok character for me, I actually connected with her on the control issues but overall I found her to be a frustrating character. Logan kept telling her she needed to be brave and I really agreed, I thought that she should have been a little more open to Logan since she obviously loved him and also wanted to be happy. And overall the story line made me a little sad, not only because Alexis and Logan could’ve had a closer relationship sooner but also for Alexis and her sister who were kind of in a relationship limbo for ten years as well. This book overall was great though and I would really like to find time soon to read the other books in the series. Worth the read, I would recommend it!

The bottom line: I thought this was a really sweet book. I did get frustrated with the story line at a couple points but the author really engages the reader with the characters, I didn’t want to put it down! I hope to find time very soon to read more in the series. I would recommend this one!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2016 Book #99 – The Boy Is Back by Meg Cabot

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, For the love of books, Women's fiction by

51nmz4qlfrl-_sx330_bo1204203200_Title: The Boy Is Back
Author: Meg Cabot
Date finished: 10/18/16
Genre: Fiction, women’s fiction
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: October 18, 2016
Pages in book: 368
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: Edelweiss NOTE: I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

In this brand new stand alone novel for adult readers, a scandal brings celebrity golfer Reed back home to the small town, the crazy family, and first love he once left behind.
Reed Stewart thought he’d left all his small-town troubles-including a broken heart-behind when he ditched tiny Bloomville, Indiana, a decade ago to get rich on the pro golf circuit. Then one tiny post on the Internet causes all of those troubles to return with a vengeance.
Becky Flowers loves her small-town life, her small-town business, and especially the small-town wedding she’s planning. She hasn’t thought about her no good high school ex, Reed Stewart, in years. Until suddenly-thanks to a news story that goes viral on every gossip site on the Internet- Reed comes bursting back into her lifelike an Indiana summer twister.
Now everything Becky and Reed thought they knew about themselves (and one another) has been turned upside down, and they – and possibly the entire town of Bloomville – will never be the same, all because: The Boy is Back.

My rating:  4.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book is about Becky Flowers, owner of a moving consultant company in rural Indiana. Becky’s life is going along fine, she’s in her late twenties, owns her own business, and has a devoted boyfriend. If things are going so well though, why can’t she stop thinking about her high school boyfriend Reed Stewart? And even worse, when he comes back to town to help his parents, why can’t she seem to resist being near him?
Reed Stewart hasn’t stepped foot in his hometown in 10 years, ever since his father told him to leave and never come back. All this time though he’s kept tabs on Becky through online and through his family to make sure that things are going well for her, never thinking much of his need to keep track of her. But when he comes home to help his family through a crisis, he must come face to face not only with Becky but also with his lingering feelings for her.
Overall I just loved this book. It was hilarious, I was laughing out loud the whole time I was reading. I really just love Cabot’s sense of humor in this book and the other two similar novels she’s written about Boys.I also really just so much enjoy the epistolary style of writing and I think Cabot specifically does a great job at this, compiling a variety of written mediums to form a well-rounded novel. The cast of characters was endearing and entertaining, especially Becky and Reed. I also really liked Cabot’s use of some specific pop culture items like auto-correct and Facebook. This was a great read and I would definitely recommend!

The bottom line: I loved this book, I couldn’t stop laughing! This is one of my favorite writing styles too, similar to her other books Boy Meets Girl and Every Boy’s Got One. Great read and I would definitely recommend!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2016 Book #96 – The Peculiar Miracles of Antoinette Martin by Stephanie Knipper

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Magical realism by

51lfjgkxu-l-_sx329_bo1204203200_Title: The Peculiar Miracles of Antoinette Martin
Author: Stephanie Knipper
Date finished: 10/9/16
Genre: Fiction, magical realism
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Publication Date: August 2, 2016
Pages in book: 325
Stand alone or series: Stand-alone
Where I got the book from: Library Thing NOTE: I received this book for free from Library Thing in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Sisters Rose and Lily Martin were inseparable when growing up on their family’s Kentucky flower farm yet became distant as adults when Lily found herself unable to deal with the demands of Rose’s unusual daughter. But when Rose becomes ill, Lily is forced to return to the farm and to confront the fears that had driven her away.
Rose’s daughter, ten-year-old Antoinette, has a form of autism that requires constant care and attention. She has never spoken a word, but she has a powerful gift that others would give anything to harness–she can heal with her touch. She brings wilted flowers back to life, makes a neighbor’s tremors disappear, and even changes the course of nature on the flower farm.
Antoinette’s gift, though, comes at a price, since each healing puts her own life in jeopardy. As Rose–the center of her daughter’s life–struggles with her own failing health and Lily confronts her anguished past, the sisters, and the men who love them, come to realize the sacrifices that must be made to keep this very special child safe.
Written with great heart and a deep understanding of what it feels like to be different, The Peculiar Miracles of Antoinette Martin is a novel about what it means to be family and about the lengths to which people will go to protect the ones they love.

My rating:  3.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book is about Rose and Lily Martin and Rose’s daughter Antoinette. Rose and Lily have always had a special bond, even for sisters. And when Rose has Antoinette, Lily loves the little girl more than anything. But Lily sees a lot of herself in Antoinette and she is afraid of trying to help her sister care for a girl with special needs. So Lily leaves home and starts a life on her own. When Rose calls six years later though, its to ask once again for Lily to come home. Rose needs help more desperately than before, she’s dying and she’s not sure how much time she has left. But can Lily really come home that easily? And can she be responsible for such an extraordinary girl like Antoinette?
Overall I liked this book ok, though I will admit it wasn’t one of my favorites. I liked Antoinette’s character and I loved being able to hear her thoughts and her perspective even though she couldn’t speak, I thought that was an interesting part of the story. The story line of this book reminded me a lot of The Wonder of All Things by Jason Mott, so if you’ve read that one and enjoyed it then I would definitely recommend reading this one. And if you like magical realism this is a great one to read.

The bottom line: I liked this book but I don’t think it thrilled me or anything. It was a good book though. If you liked The Wonder of All Things by Jason Mott then I would definitely read this one!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2016 Book #85 – The Risen by Ron Rash

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction by

51f1jklcs4l-_sx324_bo1204203200_Title: The Risen
Author: Ron Rash
Date finished: 9/12/16
Genre: Fiction, family life
Publisher: Ecco
Publication Date: September 6, 2016
Pages in book: 272
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: Edelweiss NOTE: I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

New York Times bestselling author Ron Rash demonstrates his superb narrative skills in this suspenseful and evocative tale of two brothers whose lives are altered irrevocably by the events of one long-ago summer—and one bewitching young woman—and the secrets that could destroy their lives.
While swimming in a secluded creek on a hot Sunday in 1969, sixteen-year-old Eugene and his older brother, Bill, meet the entrancing Ligeia. A sexy, free-spirited redhead from Daytona Beach banished to their small North Carolina town until the fall, Ligeia will not only bewitch the two brothers, but lure them into a struggle that reveals the hidden differences in their natures.
Drawn in by her raw sensuality and rebellious attitude, Eugene falls deeper under her spell. Ligeia introduces him to the thrills and pleasures of the counterculture movement, then in its headiest moment. But just as the movement’s youthful optimism turns dark elsewhere in the country that summer, so does Eugene and Ligeia’s brief romance. Eugene moves farther and farther away from his brother, the cautious and dutiful Bill, and when Ligeia vanishes as suddenly as she appeared, the growing rift between the two brothers becomes immutable.
Decades later, their relationship is still turbulent, and the once close brothers now lead completely different lives. Bill is a gifted and successful surgeon, a paragon of the community, while Eugene, the town reprobate, is a failed writer and determined alcoholic.
When a shocking reminder of the past unexpectedly surfaces, Eugene is plunged back into that fateful summer, and the girl he cannot forget. The deeper he delves into his memories, the closer he comes to finding the truth. But can Eugene’s recollections be trusted? And will the truth set him free and offer salvation . . . or destroy his damaged life and everyone he loves?

My rating:  3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book tells the story of Eugene and his brother, Bill, who spend their Sunday afternoons during the summer of 1969 with a girl named Ligeia (whose real name is Jane Mosely). The first time Eugene sees Ligeia coming out of the lake, he thinks she is a mermaid, but she is so very human and very flawed. Ligeia wants nothing more than to go live on a commune and do drugs all the time, but instead she’s been forced to come live with her aunt and uncle to be kept from unsavory influences. She convinces Bill to bring her drugs from his grandfather’s medical office one time and then Eugene does it many times after that without Bill knowing. And now 46 years after that summer, Ligeia’s body is found buried by the creek where they used to meet, murdered some 46 years ago. Eugene has been a drunk his whole life but he tries to pull it together long enough to figure out what happened to his first love and why his brother said he put Ligeia on a bus to Charlotte 46 years ago if she was actually dead the whole time. Did Bill murder her? Or are there events from that summer that Eugene was just never aware of?
Overall I liked this book. The story was a bit depressing to me but also suspenseful. I wouldn’t say the book was overly thrilling because I felt like I knew who had killed her as soon as I found out how she died. So I felt like I saw the ending coming but I definitely still enjoyed the story very much. None of the characters were exactly easy to like, thought I did feel especially bad for Eugene as he made an absolute mess of his life. He wanted so badly to reconnec twith his daughter but he was too toxic for her to want him in her life. I thought that this was an interesting and thought-provoking read that was fairly quick and suspenseful. I would recommend it.

The bottom line: I liked this book, it was suspensful and thought-provoking. A quick read and I kind of saw the ending coming but I still liked it. I would recommend.

Link to author website

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